Importance of Well-Child or Preventative Visits

To help your child grow up healthy and strong, Utah Valley Pediatrics has implemented the guidelines outlined in Bright Futures. Considered the gold standard for pediatric care, Bright Futures is a detailed guide on well-child visits developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

We believe that a close and ongoing partnership between parents and healthcare providers is the key to high quality healthcare. Regular well-child visits establish a continuity of care that helps build trust and improves communication between parents and their pediatricians.

See our Well-Child Visit Schedule to see when appointments should be scheduled and what to expect at each visit.

Well-child visits are an integral part of your child’s health for a number of different reasons.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
Well-child visits provide an invaluable look at your child’s health over the long term. This allows your pediatrician to monitor your child’s development and catch any emerging health problems. Without these regular visits, your pediatrician might not catch a problem until it is too late to treat effectively.

During a well-child visit, your child will receive a full physical examination complete with any recommended screenings for common health issues or developmental problems. Important information like height, weight, body mass index, and test results will be recorded and kept in your child’s file. All this information can help your pediatrician identify potential problems or diagnose any current health or developmental issues.

Be in the Know
During the well-child visit your pediatrician will be able to give you important information about normal developmental stages, safety concerns, nutrition, and any health issues that might be unique to your geographical area.

Peace of Mind
We all have questions about our child’s health, but so often these questions go unanswered. Well-child visits are the perfect time to pull together any concerns you might have and get answers to your questions.

Before a well-child visit, pediatricians recommend compiling a list of questions that you might have about your child’s health or development. Your pediatrician can help you navigate through problems such as sleeping, eating, toilet training, attention and learning problems, and social behaviors. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or share information that you think is important. You are your child’s most important advocate and uniquely positioned to help your pediatrician understand your child and your family better.

The relationship that you are able to develop with your pediatrician during these visits will also give him or her additional insights into your child and family that could help with diagnosing potential problems.

Protect Your Child From Serious Diseases
Well-child visits are a great way to make sure your child’s immunizations are current. A study by the CDC showed that the implementation of routine childhood immunizations has caused the largest ever decline of some of the most devastating diseases in the United States. Diseases that once killed and maimed children are now highly preventable.

However, these diseases are not totally eradicated; many are still very prevalent in other countries and could easily return to the United States if our immunization rates fall. Studies show that children who aren’t vaccinated are at a much higher risk of getting these diseases.

Ironically, vaccines have been so successful that we no longer see the devastating diseases that they protect us against. Because of this many don’t realize the important of protecting their children against diseases like polio, pertussis, and measles.

What to Expect From Us

We are committed to providing your child with the best healthcare possible and believe that well-child visits are integral to that goal.

Every year on your child’s birthday you can expect to see a postcard from us reminding you to make an appointment to bring your child in for an annual well-child visit. Please contact us if you have any questions or to make an appointment.